GM says recalling Saab, Saturn brand vehicles with Takata parts

The models recalled are Saab 9-3 from model years 2003 to 2011 and Saab 9-5 from 2010 and 2011 model years, as well as Saturn Astras from 2008 and 2009 model yearsReuters | February 16, 2016, 23:38 IST

DETROIT: General Motors Co on Tuesday said it is recalling about 200,000 vehicles of its former brands Saab and Saturn as part of a wider recall of more than 5 million autos with potentially defective air bag inflators made by Takata Corp.

There will be 180,000 of the vehicles recalled in the United States and another 20,000 in Canada, GM said.

The models recalled are Saab 9-3 from model years 2003 to 2011 and Saab 9-5 from 2010 and 2011 model years, as well as Saturn Astras from 2008 and 2009 model years. These vehicles have Takata PSDI-5 front driver-side air bag inflators.

No injuries, deaths or inadvertent ruptures of air bags in these vehicles have been reported but at least 10 deaths have been linked to Takata air bags, all but one of them in a Honda Motor Co model.

U.S. safety regulator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said that Takata air bag inflators can explode with too much force, sending metal fragments into a vehicle.

Last week, the three largest German automakers - Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and BMW - each recalled about 850,000 vehicles with the same inflator as the vehicles in the GM recall.

Takata said last month that inflators in more than 5 million vehicles were defective and that those vehicles should be recalled. (Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Bill Trott)